This invention relates to a keyboard arrangement in general and more particularly to a typewriter keyboard arrangement which can be programmed to indicate a plurality of different formats.
As one can ascertain, the standard typewriter keyboard which is still in use today was developed in the 1860s by C. L. Sholes. Essentially, the keyboard was originally arranged so that the most frequently used letters were placed as far apart as possible to prevent the typist from striking the keys more rapidly than the mechanical mechanism could accommodate.
The standard typewriter keyboard, as indicated above, is referred to as the Qwerty keyboard which letters designate the alphabetical sequence of the second row of keys from left to right. It has been uniformly stated that this keyboard seriously affects the speed at which a typist can perform due to the antiquated structure, but based on the way typing is taught and based on the wide spread availability of typewriters using this format, the Qwerty keyboard is still in wide spread use. It is, of course, obvious that in today's technical society, the mechanical constraints of antiquated typewriters have been completely overcome, but the keyboard is still widely employed even though it was deliberately designed to reduce the speed of data input.
Many people are cognizant of these problems, and over the course of time several improved keyboard arrangements have been developed and are widely known such as the Dvorak, the Montgomery as well as various different arrangements. Essentially, these keyboards have the alphanumeric characters prearranged to afford substantial improvement in terms of speed and accuracy of keyboard entry. The proponents of such systems are many, and a great deal of literature exists in the prior art extolling the virtues of alternate keyboard systems using such arrays.
See for example an article entitled "Bringing Manual Input into the Twentieth Century-New Keyboard Concepts" published in Computer (IEEE, Mar. 3, 1982 by E. B. Montgomery). See also an article entitled "Will There Ever be an Efficient Keyboard" published in High Technology, January 1983 by Cary Lu.
Essentially, such articles, as well as many other references, recognize the need for improving the keyboard format to gain increased speed and efficiency. In spite of such considerations, the improved keyboard arrangements have not been widely accepted. A major reason for this is that the Qwerty keyboard arrangment is presently inflexible as existing typewriters have designated labeling on the key tops, and therefore, can only support the antiquated key configuration.
A review of the prior art will indicate that there are many patents and articles which propose various schemes for changing the labeling of keys on a keyboard to facilitate different operations when a key is depressed. In any event as will be further explained, the typewriter possesses some unique qualities which must be complied with in order to furnish a product consistent with custom and usage of the apparatus. It is believed that in order for the various improved keyboard formats to be adopted, one will have to supply a typewriter or keyboard which is capable of utilizing a number of selected formats in order to enable the operator to familiarize himself with systems other than the Qwerty arrangement.
Essentially, one must provide a single keyboard which has the capability of being programmed to present different keyboard arrangements as well as the standard Qwerty arrangement. In this manner, the keyboard could be used by those presently trained in touch typing and by those trained in improved keyboard techniques.
Based on the advanced technology of today and the availability of microprocessor control at low-cost, this approach appears to be entirely feasible and economical. In any event as will be explained, the human engineering factors in developing such a keyboard are considerable as well as the fact that one must provide a reliable and economical arrangement whereby different keyboard formats can be accessed according to the desires of a user and in a rapid and efficient manner.
As alluded to above, the concept of electronically or mechanically changing key legends for various purposes is well known in the prior art. Prior art references indicate that a great deal of work has been expended on various keyboards. In any event, there are few prior art references which attempt to solve the problem inherent in the touch type keyboard as utilized for example in a typewriter.
A number of prior art patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,257 entitled CALCULATOR APPARATUS WITH ELECTRONICALLY ALTERABLE KEY SYMBOLS, issued on Mar. 7, 1978 to A. S. Bagley to relate to the changing of key symbols on a keyboard. This patent and others depict a way of electronically labeling and relabeling a limited set of keys to access a large number of different functions that may be programmed into a calculator. The objective of such patents is not applicable to the concepts described herein in the sense that they relate to a large number of functions which have no particular orientation or position in regard to a keyboard format as they do not relate to the single function of optionally transferring alphanumeric data onto a paper or display.
As one will ascertain, the systems are extremely complicated and do not address themselves to a common keyboard format which has been extensively and widely utilized.
Examples of other patents which employ similar concepts as indicated above can be had by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,121, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,108 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,375. Other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,193 entitled TERMINAL WITH INTERCHANGEABLE APPLICATION MODEL, issued on Apr. 20, 1982 to T. J. Markley et al. This patent uses a flexible membrane keyboard which includes a keyboard overlay that is employed to change keyboard symbols dependent upon various applications. Other patents employ similar techniques and provide overlays for changing the keyboard legend. The problems with such approaches are many.
A major problem is that the use of overlays is extremely inconvenient as such overlays can be damaged, lost or misplaced as well as the fact that the keyboard arrangement utilizes switches which are not acceptable for use in implementing a typewriter keyboard arrangement. Such switches as membrane switches do not provide adequate mechanical feedback and will not conform to the requirements set by various standards for typewriter keyboard application.
Other examples of systems using overlays for keyboard legend change are depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,321 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,375. Essentially, many prior art patents as of the type indicated above are concerned with changing the keyboard legend in calculating devices where the device can perform many more functions than the keyboard has keys to accommodate. Hence in regard to the calculator art it has been a consistent objective to afford legend changes according to the performance of a different mathematical operation. Hence other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,966, U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,282, U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,843, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,108, U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,121 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,530, as well as many other patents depict various techniques for changing the legend of individual keys or groups of keys associated with an arbitrary keyboard arrangement.
If one reviews the type of prior art depicted in the above noted patents, one will realize that there are extreme problems in adapting the prior art techniques to the formulation of a typewriter keyboard which is programmable and capable of providing different formats. These difficulties reside in the design of the key utilized in such devices as well as the manner in which the changed legend appears on the keyboard which factors as well as many others render such approaches impractical for us in a typewriter keyboard array. Apart from such factors is that many of the prior art techniques are extremely difficult to implement, are expensive and are not associated with the reliability inherent in modern day typewriters.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard for a typewriter or for data entry which enables one to rapidly and reliably change the format and key legend in a simple and efficient manner. It is a further object to provide a keyboard for a typewriter or similar article which is capable of being programmed to enable a user to select a particular key arrangement implemented on a conventional typewriter keyboard structure.
It is a further object to provide an improved typewriter keyboard where the key positions and spacings are provided according to modern day standards and layout requirements. A further object of the invention is to provide a programmable keyboard incorporating a display for each key and which display is intimately associated with the key.